7 Truths About Life Everyone Needs to Learn From Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

On September 18, 2007, Carnegie Mellon professor and alumnus Randy Pausch delivered a one-of-a-kind last lecture that made the world stop and pay attention.

It became an Internet sensation viewed by millions, an international media story, and a best-selling book that has been published in more than 35 languages.

Below are the most highlighted phrases by kindle users from Randy’s famous best-selling book “The Last Lecture”.

7 Truths About Life Everyone Needs To Learn

1. “EXPERIENCE IS what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.”

Every situation whether good or bad is a learning experience. It’s all about how you frame that experience. It’s not about what happens to you but about how you react to what happens to you that makes the difference.

2.”Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”

Nothing worth attaining comes easy. If you really want something bad enough you won’t let anything stop you. There will be obstacles in your path. There will be people who say you can’t do it. There will be resistance, discomfort, and growth involved. You can count on it. Will this stop you? If it does you didn’t want it bad enough. How bad do you want it?

3. “Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.”

Never take time for granted. Nobody really knows how much time they have left to live. View each day as a gift and live it to the fullest. Each day you wake up is another day that you are supposed to be here. There is a reason for your life. Live with passion and purpose. Live intentionally and with no regrets.

4. “When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.”

You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better. Sometimes we need a dose of reality. Sometimes we need to hear the hard, honest truth from a friend, spouse, relative etc. This means they care.

5. “It’s not how hard you hit. It’s how hard you get hit…and keep moving forward.”

Life can and will hit you hard at times. The ones who keep getting up and keep moving forward are the ones that win in the end. Life is hard, but compared to what? Take responsibility for where you are in life. Keep moving forward.

6. “The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures. The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to all the pitfalls.”

Failure is only failure if you let it stop you. As Thomas Edison said, “I haven’t failed, I found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.”

7. “Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.”

Think about how many times you have complained. Has it ever changed anything? The key is to acknowledge your natural tendency to complain and cut it off. Sometimes we just start rambling without ever even knowing it. When you catch yourself complaining stop and force yourself to think instead on what you can learn. Count your blessings. It can always be worse. Be thankful and you will attract more to be thankful for.